


Bedtime Stories Under the Stars

by msermesth



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Dimension Z, Kid Fic, M/M, Missing Scene, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msermesth/pseuds/msermesth
Summary: Ian lay down and gazed at the stars. Those stars were one of the few things Steve enjoyed in this godforsaken place. “I want to hear the story about the prince who pretended to be a knight. The smart one, who made his own armor.”It was Ian’s favorite story.





	Bedtime Stories Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Cap-IM Alphabet Challenge with the letter Z. I chose the prompt “Z; Dimension”. It’s kinda cheating, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

“Dad? Could you tell me a story?” Ian asked and Steve somehow felt humbled and yet ten feet tall because of the trust Ian had placed in him.

He finished putting out the fire while Ian rolled out their makeshift sleeping bags. “Which one do you want to hear?”

Ian lay down and stared up at the stars. Those stars were one of the few things Steve enjoyed in this godforsaken place. “I want to hear the one about the prince who pretended to be a knight. The smart one, who made his own armor.” It was Ian’s favorite story.

Steve smiled and finished packing up the last few odds and ends of their camp so their supplies would be easy to move if something happened in the middle of the night. “Well, there once was a prince named Anthony,” he started and lay down once he had given their camp a last look. “Prince Anthony was rich and he could build the most amazing things. He was the smartest--and most handsome--man in the land.” He paused and shifted so that he was laying on his back. “Anyway, Prince Anthony built the best weapons there were and he made the kingdom rich with his inventions. One day, he went to a far away land to sell those weapons, but the people there hurt him and captured him and told him he must build weapons for them, instead. Now, Prince Anthony didn’t want to do that. He wanted to escape with the man he was captured with. So, he built a suit of armor--”

“Like a knight?” Ian interrupted, as expected. He liked that part.

Steve continued. “Yes, like a knight in shining armor. And with the armor, he was able to escape, but he couldn’t save his friend. The loss of his friend and the experience of being captured changed him, and when he returned to castle, he vowed to use his armor for good, and began to save people.” Steve shut his eyes tight, knowing that Ian couldn’t see the emotion on his face, and thought of what that must have been like for Tony, alone and with nothing but his own brilliance to save himself. Steve wondered what it was like for that to become a pattern.

“But he didn’t tell anyone he was the prince, right?” Ian asked, on cue, and next time, Steve was going to have Ian to just tell the story himself.

“No, he called himself Iron Man and told no one. But that didn’t stop him from forming a team of heroes and welcoming them into his home. They named themselves “The Avengers” and they were all very grateful to be his friends. They fought together for years, and eventually Iron Man told his friends that he was the prince, but sometimes they also fought.” Steve had added the last part without even realizing he was going to do it. He never talked about that in this story.

“Why?” Ian asked, shocked to hear a twist in the story.

“Because sometimes people who care about the same things have very different ideas of how to get those things, and then they fight."  _And fight, and fight, and fight some more_ , Steve added in his mind.

He missed Tony more than words could communicate, and on nights like tonight, he was pretty sure he’d take only seeing Tony through the bars of a jail cell over this overpowering loneliness. It had been years since Steve had last seen him, and he couldn’t come up with the right words to describe just how much he missed him.

And every day, when it became more and more clear that going home wasn’t going to be an option, Steve missed him more.

“But they always made up, right?” Ian asked and Steve realized that he became quiet.

“ _Always_ ,” Steve responded, firmer than he intended. _At least we fixed it_ , Steve thought. At least he left Tony as a friend.

Ian nodded his head, Steve could see the silhouette against the stars. “Good.”

Steve didn't have anything to add. Normally he would tell a story based on Tony’s fights with Hammer or the Mandarin. Once he told Ian about the time Ezekiel Stane fought him and Tony stopped his heart, but his voice caught as he finished and he couldn’t tell Ian again.

Soon Ian was asleep and Steve laid there, wishing he could do the same. He thought about how much he wanted to go home and how if he ever did, he’d tell Tony a story about how he felt for him.

He'd tell him the truth.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr post](https://msermesth.tumblr.com/post/171914277599/bedtime-stories-under-the-stars)


End file.
